Sjöberg Prize awarded to British scientist for pioneering tumor evolution research

This year's Sjöberg Prize of one million US dollars is awarded to a British cancer researcher who has provided fundamental knowledge about evolution in tumors. Charles Swanton, at the Francis Crick Institute in London, has described how tumors' mutations arise and develop. His discoveries could help explain why treatments do not always work, as well as leading the way to more accurate diagnostics.

It has long been known that cancer starts when a cell mutates and begins dividing aggressively, but researchers have not known the details of what happens inside the tumor and what the mutations look like.

This is where Charles Swanton comes into the picture. Like his namesake, Charles Darwin, he has tackled evolution and considered how tumors change with the various mutations that arise.

"He started with a fairly simple experiment, where he divided a kidney tumor into pieces and then analyzed each one. He saw that they were all different, so there must have been a process that led to mutations that only exist in specific parts of the tumor," explains Urban Lendahl, secretary of the Sjöberg Prize Committee at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

This may explain why some treatments fail to completely eradicate a cancer. However, to investigate these connections in more depth, Swanton needed to follow many patients over a long period of time. This was done as part of a major British research project, TRACERx, initiated by him.

"A great number of researchers followed hundreds of cancer patients for many years. Swanton's focus was lung cancer, and the project allowed him to study tumors from the initial diagnosis all the way through treatment and any relapses," says Lendahl.

The genetic landscape of a tumor can be likened to a family tree. The mutations that occur early in development are in the tree's trunk; these are lasting and are found in all the tumor's cells. Over time, other mutations occur; these are in the tree's branches. Cancer treatment usually only removes some of the branches, while others unfortunately survive. This means the entire tumor is not eliminated.

Lendahl describes Swanton's discoveries as a treasure trove, which can be explored by other researchers who want to improve cancer treatment and diagnostics. He has also developed a blood test that can, at an early stage, identify cancer patients who are starting to relapse.

Charles Swanton was very surprised to learn that he had been awarded the Sjöberg Prize and delighted about the size of the research grant it includes. One thing he would like to investigate in the future is how the first cancer cell begins its journey, which researchers still know very little about.

"I hope this prize money is going to allow us to really understand how that very first step in tumor initiation and evolution occurs. If we can understand that process, I hope we can intercept it and prevent it from happening and therefore prevent cancers from emerging," he says.